16 Feb Siegrist: 9a+ first ascent!

Jonathan Siegrist has made the first ascent of Close encounter, 9a+.

Back in America after a long European tour to discover many extreme routes of this continent, Jonathan Siegrist immediately set to work on a project of his. The project lasted more than ten days, but the result is amazing.

In fact, at La Madres Jonathan freed Close encounter, a very special and difficult pitch to climb. The proposed grade is 9a+, but the style seems to be really difficult! The route is full of underclings and compression movements, with a kneebar that is really difficult to interpret. Immediately after this main proj, Siegrist also granted himself the FA of Forbidden Planet, a pitch he was trying with Dru Mack and which should be around 8c!

In total Siegrist has climbed almost twenty pitches between 9a+ and 9b, including some Italian masterpieces such as Lapsus and Goldrake!

From Jonathan Siegrist’ IG page

Alessandro Palma